Top Decoration

I say "sort of" because, really, only one of these items actually came from a thrift store last week...

On Thursday afternoon, after Kelly and I had our awesome lunch at Sorci's, we headed out to browse some local thrift stores. We didn't come away with a whole lot, but we did come away happy!

Here was my find:

A long wool coat being sold for $30. But, it was my lucky day - it was 50% off! So I got it for a whopping $15!
Sold!

I think the lining is such a pretty color!

Kelly found a super cute pair of shoes for $5!

Like I said, we were happy!

At one of the shops I had found a 5 gallon, blue glass jug. I knew it was perfect because of the color, but also because I had been thinking about starting the boys towards working on a "Disneyland Fund". Growing up, I had several friends whose parents had these big, glass jugs where they would collect all of their loose change and once it was full they would turn it in to find out that they had collected $1000! Ok, I'm sure it wasn't that much, but I know it was a lot! This method is perfect for one little boy in our family who simply cannot resist picking up coins that he finds on the ground, buried in couches, etc. No matter how many times we have the "Don't pick up things off the ground!" conversation, he truly cannot help himself. This is where hand sanitizer comes in handy!

The jug was $30 at the thrift shop. Not a terrible price, but it didn't feel like a great price either. I had never seen a jug like that in blue glass. It was perfect! But, since I had no idea if I was getting a good deal or not, I passed on buying it.
Ughh!
I was kicking myself later. I would much rather have the blue glass, then the typical clear glass. I came home and told my husband about it, to which he replied
"Ya, I know exactly what your talking about. My Dad has several of them!"
What? Really?
He made a quick phone call and said the jugs were sitting under his parents house. My husband went over the next morning (my in-laws live just three doors down) and walked back through our front door carrying a 5 gallon, blue glass jug!
NICE!

Owen has already started saving for that Disneyland trip!

I was thrilled! And so glad that I followed my instincts and did not buy the one at the thrift store!

Then on Saturday, my mother-in-law was over and had mentioned this old school house desk that she had been using as a display table, but wasn't going to be using anymore. This caught my attention because I have been wanting to get an old school desk for our first grader to use when he does his homework. I had found the perfect desk many months ago at a local salvage yard for $5, but when I went back to get it, it was gone.

My mother-in-law told me to come down and check it out and that I could use it if I wanted to.
This is it:

It sits two children and the desk tops lift up independent of one another.

It has a trough (for lack of a better word) to hold pencils. And if you look really closely between the trough and the metal hardware you can see where someone etched the name "Andrew" into the desk.

Can you see the stick figure drawings on the front of the desk?

I am hoping to find two small wooden chairs to sit in front of the desk, but until then I have an ottoman under the left side to use as a seat and a toy basket under the other side.

This is where you will find our little girl playing her piano book many times every day!

My mother-in-law and I have discovered that we're happy to trade things that we may no longer have a use for. This desk being a perfect example! We'll use it for a while and when we're done with it the plan is for it to get passed on to my nephew. A perfect way to re-use items and keep them in the family!

Kelly and I have learned that we are definitely fans of the thrift store bargains! She found a desk, a really great desk, and is still working on her husband to buy it for her! I'll let you know if she gets it! It's worthy of a post all to itself!